There are over 160 million pieces of space debris that threaten the critical infrastructure that we all depend on for food production, telecommunication, navigation, and more. Space Trash Signs — Visualizing the consequences of space pollution with constellations made from space debris.
Scope
Development, QA, DevOps
Technologies
Three.js, WebGL, WordPress
Recognition
Awwwards SOTD, Awwwards DA, FWA FOTD, SiteInspire
Agency
Serviceplan
Design
Moby Digg + Eat, Sleep + Design
Year
2024
See online
spacetrashsigns.org
Space Trash Signs creatively bridges the gap between abstract data and human experience by transforming space debris into interactive constellations.
Using real-time orbital data, the project visualizes clusters of debris as new "constellations" in the night sky, each telling a unique story about the dangers they pose to global infrastructure. Users can explore these constellations online, learning about the origins of each piece of debris and the impact it has on vital systems such as navigation, communications, and weather monitoring.
The Space Trash Signs project has had a profound social impact by making the invisible threat of space debris accessible and understandable to a global audience. Through interactive visualizations and educational content, the project has reached over 2 million users worldwide, fostering a greater understanding of space sustainability.
Our role in the project was to build an in-browser interactive experience using WebGL. Based on the Three.js particle system, we created a dynamic camera system that enables immersive exploration of the constellation of signs. This approach allows the 3D world to blend seamlessly with the user interface, ensuring smooth transitions between different viewing perspectives, always in sync with the site navigation.
"From the very beginning, Owls felt like true collaborators. They didn’t just execute our vision—they added their own creative ideas for 3D visuals, camera movement, and interactions that made the project stronger. Whenever we gave feedback, they were lightning-fast to respond, and their technical guidance gave us the confidence to launch a fully working MVP much faster than expected."
Whatever your ideas are we would love to help take it to the next level.